Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”—Revelation 6:14-17 NKJV

The six seals of revelation reveal the scope and nature of events leading up to the time of the return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Remember the church is at the throne of God as the Father commits to the Son the scroll containing the judgments. The six seals open the following judgments.

The 1st seal releases a white horse which is the first judgment, the Anti-Christ who through a false peace and deception conquers nations. The 2nd seal releases a red horse which is a time of war. The 3rd seal releases a black horse which is a time of famine. The 4th seal releases a pale horse, it represents death and hell which effects 1/4 of the earth. The 5th seal reveals an altar of souls before the throne which are those who were martyred for their faith in Jesus Christ during the time of these judgments. The 6th seal releases a great disturbance in the heavens and the earth as The Lord Jesus returns to and places his feet on the mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Read Revelation 6 and Matthew 24:1-30 and you will notice a striking parallel between the two. Notice how Jesus described His return…

Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.—Matthew 24:29-30 NKJV

Notice Jesus is coming with the “Clouds of Heaven” with great power and glory. Who are these cloud of witnesses that return to the earth from the throne of God? They are the Saints, the redeemed of all ages, those who were casting their crowns and worshipping the Lamb before the throne in Revelation 4 & 5. Consider this, the oldest prophecy in scripture is about the second coming of Christ with His Saints.

Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.”—Jude 1:14-15 NKJV

These are sobering events that should cause us as believers to fear The Lord and live righteously as we will be rewarded for what we do for Jesus. The time is short! Make sure Jesus is first place in your life. Finish Strong!